


Souls are a Serious Business

by Halmaithor



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Feelings, Fluff and Humor, Future Fic, Hugs, Multi, Parabatai Clary Fray & Isabelle Lightwood, Post-Canon, bc that's what seventy percent of this fic is lol, it's just a family gathering y'know? but i'm not gonna tag EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION lol, nor every single character - these guys are just the ones with dialogue, there are other characters and relationships but these are the main ones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25189174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halmaithor/pseuds/Halmaithor
Summary: After Clary returns to the Shadow World, she and Izzy become parabatai, which is a solemn and sacred event.Then again, family gatherings can only be so serious.
Relationships: Clary Fray & Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fray & Simon Lewis, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Clary Fray
Comments: 10
Kudos: 56
Collections: Shadowhunters Fic-A-Thon 2020





	Souls are a Serious Business

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Hope you enjoy this lighthearted fic. ^^  
> One note: This fic does make a couple of references to a previous work of mine, ["Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23844241), but you don't have to read that first to understand this. (I'd recommend it though, I do love that one XD )

‘…If aught but death part thee and me,’ Izzy says, her voice strong and clear, her stance tall and proud.  
‘If aught but death part thee and me,’ Clary repeats, a little breathless under the weight of commitment, because _this is it._

With the final lines spoken, the bond shimmers fully into place, and Brother Zachariah smiles. ‘Isabelle Sophia Lightwood, and Clarissa Adele Fairchild. You are now _parabatai._ May the Angel watch over you and all those you protect.’

The room erupts into respectful applause (and one whooping cheer that Clary recognises as Simon), and Izzy’s professional composure breaks, her face splitting into a beaming smile as she squeezes the hand still linked with Clary’s own. ‘We did it,’ she says.

Clary laughs, pulling her new _parabatai_ into a quick hug, a little giddy with the sudden doubling of her own happiness, her ribs feeling fuller for the second heartbeat she recognises beneath them now. ‘We did,’ she agrees. Not for the first time, her stomach twists in a strange sort of nostalgia and comfort – because she’s _back._ She doesn’t have all of her memories back, not yet, but she’s still collecting little fragments every other day; the way light catches in a familiar stained glass window, or the _thwack_ of a bō, or the burn of a particular rune triggering a sudden recollection.  
But she’s gained something different today, a security that slots into place as some fear inside her is soothed – because now, she’s tied to the Shadow World in a way she wasn’t before. This bond is pretty much a magical guarantee of what Isabelle’s been telling her ever since her memories started to return, and brought with them the fear of losing all of this yet again: _If the angels want to take you away from us a second time, they’ll have to get through me first._

  
With the ceremony over, the congregation start to advance, offering congratulations and well-wishes – and there’s a _lot_ of them, both from within the New York Institute and from certain delegations of the Clave. Izzy’s Head of the Institute, after all – her _parabatai_ ceremony was always going to be something of a political spectacle.

But eventually, the more politically-motivated guests politely take their leave, and their family are the only ones remaining in the ceremonial hall.

Simon is first – vampire speed and all that – and he darts from one side to the other for a moment, seemingly not knowing who to approach first, before apparently coming to a compromise and just pulling both of them in for a hug at the same time. ‘Congrats, you two,’ he says, flashing Clary a bright smile before turning to Izzy and giving her a gentle peck on the lips.  
‘See?’ Izzy says, still grinning. ‘Not _freaky_ at all.’  
Simon looks back at Clary, his jaw dropped and his eyebrows knitted indignantly together. ‘You told her I said that?’ he asks accusingly.  
Clary shrugs, stifling a laugh at the look of utter _betrayal_ on Simon’s face. ‘I mean, she’s my parabatai _and_ my boss, Si. There’s not a lot of room for secrets.’

‘I don’t suppose you teach classes on that philosophy, do you?’ Alec asks, slinging an arm around Izzy’s shoulder as he gives a pointed look at the space behind Clary.  
‘Hey!’ The offended voice comes from over her shoulder, and she smiles, leaning back as a circle of arms appear around her. ‘I tell you stuff. Eventually.’  
She feels herself being turned around, and then she’s face to face with her boyfriend, automatically stretching up onto her tiptoes as she loops her arms around his neck. ‘Congratulations,’ Jace murmurs, his brashness fading as it always does when they’re like this, gazing at each other and letting the rest of the world fall away.  
Clary’s chest floods with a familiar warmth, and she pulls him down into a kiss.

  
Several minutes later, Clary and Izzy have almost made the complete rounds of congratulatory family members. Izzy is, apparently, determined to hug each and every one of them. In the spirit of family unity, Clary tries to follow suit, and almost makes it – even managing to secure a one-armed half-embrace from Alec – but then her and Robert’s eyes meet, and they freeze for a moment, before mutually extending their hands instead. There’s awkward, and then there’s _awkward,_ after all. Maybe they’ll cross that particular bridge when she and Jace get married someday.

In any case, the last person Clary gets to – after extricating herself from Luke’s too-tight bear-hug, which possibly cracks one of her ribs but also makes her laugh because it’s so like old times – is Magnus, who was previously engaged catching up with Brother Zachariah when she glanced over.  
Now, however, his attention rests fully on her, and he gives her a warm smile as she steps into his arms briefly. ‘Well, Biscuit, how does it feel?’  
‘Good,’ she says honestly, returning his smile as she steps back, snaking her left arm around Jace’s waist again. ‘I’m glad we went through with it. Thanks for your advice.’  
Magnus waves a hand dismissively. ‘It was nothing.’ He glances down at the spot just above her left hip, where the combo of low-rise pants and crop top leaves the new rune proudly exposed. ‘Left hip again,’ he says thoughtfully. ‘Is it always placed there, then?’  
Clary frowns, unsure of the answer – but at that moment Alec appears again, looming out of the crowd on the right and coming to stand beside his husband. ‘Not always,’ he says, gesturing at the rune, ‘but it’s a pretty common placement. It’s fairly accessible, and easily displayed, which has some ceremonial importance because of the nature of the bond. But it’s not as high-priority to reach and reactivate as things like strength or _iratze.’_

‘…Okay, starting to feel like I should have done some research before today,’ Clary says sheepishly. ‘This could have gone pretty badly, apparently.’  
Alec shrugs, but he smiles a little, too. ‘Izzy had you covered, she knows all this stuff. You wouldn’t have ended up with it somewhere ridiculous, like your shoulder blade.’  
Despite his airy tone, the comment sounds pointed to Clary’s ears – and a second later, she’s proved right as Jace sighs. ‘More than a decade ago, Alec,’ he says wearily. ‘Let it go.’  
Alec raises an eyebrow in a way that suggests he is very much _not_ going to do that, and Clary grins.

‘Well, regardless,’ Magnus says, as Izzy and Simon appear from the left and join their little circle of conversation. ‘It’s… an _apt_ placement.’  
His eyes seem to spark a little, and Clary narrows her own in suspicion. ‘What do you mean?’  
‘Oh, nothing,’ Magnus says nonchalantly, even having the gall to throw a _wink_ in her direction. ‘You’ll have to forgive an old man his little jokes. It’s not important.’

Clary frowns – but she hums in a grudging semi-agreement, preparing to let it go and change the subject.  
She’s interrupted, however, by Simon’s sudden laughter. ‘Oh my god,’ he says, and he looks practically _gleeful._ ‘He means that you’re _joined at the hip.’_

It takes half a moment to sink in – and then all three siblings seem to react at once. Alec rolls his eyes (though it’s _Magnus,_ so he smiles too, of course), Izzy honest-to-god _giggles_ (apparently, dating Simon is increasing her tolerance for stupid jokes), and Jace groans loudly (‘Come on, _seriously?’).  
_Magnus, for his part, shrugs – and then subtly offers Simon a low-five, which is quickly and eagerly accepted.

Clary, meanwhile, just smiles, looking around at her re-found family. These are some of the biggest players in the Shadow World, unbelievably powerful in terms of both magic and politics.

They’re also a bunch of idiots, and she is so, _so_ lucky to have them back.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't realise it until I was editing, but Alec's assessment of the parabatai rune placement - ceremonially and practically - was lowkey influenced by ralf's work, [the planes of you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17714972). 
> 
> Also, I wanted to mention other important people who would have turned up for the ceremony, but I didn't want too wide a focus detracting from Clary's inner monologue, if that makes sense. Keeping the main focus on our regular circle of six (i.e. the three members of Team Lightwood and their significant others) felt more natural, as if that's how they would have gravitated - at least for a while - during a big family event. *shrug* (This is also why Luke doesn't have dialogue, although his being there is obviously hugely important to Clary, and he definitely would have had his own moment with her.) 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this! Do let me know below if you did. <3
> 
> [Find me on tumblr!](silver-latin-and-salt.tumblr.com)


End file.
